culture editors gift guide christmas holidays

Cultured magazine's editors have published a holiday gift guide featuring a curated selection of items ranging from books and film memberships to robes, facials, and art-related products. Recommendations include Elaine Kraf's novel "The Princess of 72nd Street," an AAA24 membership from production company A24, a Hanro shawl collar cotton robe, a facial from Cali Strauhs, and a set of architecture-themed notebooks and books from the New Museum and Special Special. The guide also highlights a bronze sculpture by artist Ryan Schneider, tying the list to contemporary visual art.

There Has Never Been an Apolitical Venice Biennale

The Venice Biennale, with its national pavilion structure, has always been a platform for political expression and soft power, a reality evident from its early 20th-century origins. Contemporary critic Arturo Lancellotti's 1909 review of the German and British pavilions was steeped in geopolitical context, revealing how national artistic displays were interpreted through the lens of imperial power and military alliances.

Ibrahim Mahama awarded 2026 Arnold Bode Prize

Ghanaian visual artist Ibrahim Mahama has been awarded the 2026 Arnold Bode Prize by the city of Kassel. The prize, announced by his gallery White Cube, includes a €10,000 award in recognition of his artistic practice.

Anne Hardy’s Hollow Humanoids

British artist Anne Hardy presents a suite of floor-based installations and assemblage sculptures titled "Interloper" at Visual. The exhibition features a series of "Beings"—twisted, life-size humanoid entities constructed from rusted wire, crushed cans, soil, and the artist’s own cast body parts and clothing. These figures, often posed in yoga-like positions or meditative stances, appear as hollow, faceless outlines that blend a sense of vitality with physical disintegration.

Hunker Down With John Skoog

Artist John Skoog has premiered a new black-and-white feature film, 'Redoubt' (2025), starring Denis Lavant, and opened a concurrent exhibition at Moderna Museet in Malmö. The film follows a farmhand building an apocalyptic shelter, while the museum installation features the full-scale, fabricated bunker from the film's production.

Art21 Honors Paul Pfeiffer and Charles Gaines at 2026 Spring Gala as Organization Celebrates 25 Years of Championing Access to Contemporary Art

Art21 will honor artists Paul Pfeiffer and Charles Gaines at its 2026 Spring Gala on April 14, alongside a tribute to philanthropist Agnes Gund. The event, held at Tribeca Rooftop, features a live auction of exclusive experiences and a marching band procession, and serves as the centerpiece of the organization's year-long 25th-anniversary celebration.

In New York, Sotheby's Exhibition-Sales Are Packed

À New York, les expositions-ventes de Sotheby’s font salle comble

Sotheby's New York has experienced an unprecedented surge in public attendance at its exhibition-sales held in the iconic Breuer Building. In just two weeks, over 25,000 visitors—a 3.8-fold increase from the previous year—queued around the block to see works by artists like Gustave Klimt, Maurizio Cattelan, and René Magritte, with total attendance from November to late January reaching 46,325. The crowds, reminiscent of a major museum show, initially overwhelmed staff, who had to manage the flow to preserve the viewing experience for high-value clients.

Siteless Athens Arts Institution NEON Closing After 14 Years

The Athens-based cultural institution NEON, founded by prominent art collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos in 2012, is closing after 14 years. Operating without a permanent building, NEON organized 44 exhibitions across unconventional spaces, including ancient archaeological sites, commissioning works by artists such as Marina Abramović, Anastasia Douka, and Danh Vo. Its final project is a trilogy by artist Michael Rakowitz titled "Michael Rakowitz & Ancient Cultures," which began at the Old Acropolis Museum and will conclude later this year.

Art Publisher Owes $102.2 Million in Damages for Late Robert Indiana Works

A Manhattan jury has ordered art publisher Michael McKenzie to pay $102.2 million in damages for creating unauthorized or adulterated versions of works by the late Pop artist Robert Indiana. The lawsuit, brought by Indiana’s former business partner the Morgan Art Foundation, alleged that McKenzie produced Indiana-related junk products that infringed trademark and copyright, including reproductions of Indiana’s iconic “LOVE” design and the artworks *The Ninth American Dream* (2001) and *USA FUN* (1965). The jury found McKenzie liable for exploiting Indiana in the final years of his life, after the artist granted power of attorney to his caretaker, Jamie Thomas.

Renoir Not Seen in Public for 97 Years Will Go Up for Auction in May

A major portrait by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, "La femme aux lilas (Portrait de Nini Lopez)" (1876–77), will be sold at Christie's on May 18. The painting, which has been held privately by the Whitney Payson family for 97 years, is expected to fetch between $25 and $35 million.

Getty Center to Close in Los Angeles as Major Renovation Looms

The Getty Center in Los Angeles will close for a full year starting March 15, 2027, to undergo its first major renovation since opening in 1997. The "modernization initiatives" include updates to the galleries, a redesign of the Welcome Hall with a new café, and the replacement of the iconic tram system to increase passenger capacity. During the closure, the Getty Villa in Malibu will remain open and display highlights from the Center’s permanent collection, while additional programming will be held at a temporary space on Sepulveda Boulevard.

Between setbacks and uncertain collectors, how did the miart 2026 fair go for the galleries?

Tra intoppi di percorso e collezionisti incerti, come è andata la fiera miart 2026 per le gallerie?

The 2026 edition of the miart fair in Milan faced significant logistical challenges following its move to the South Wing of the Allianz MiCo. While the 'Emergent' section thrived with ample space and natural light, the 'Established' and 'Anthology' sections suffered from a confusing multi-level layout, poor signage, and oppressive lighting. Many galleries, including Alfonso Artiaco, reported that the lack of clear directions turned high-quality exhibition spaces into "cathedrals in the desert," making it difficult for collectors to locate booths.

$35.1 million Henry Moore sculpture leads London March 2026 auctions.

A Henry Moore bronze sculpture, "Reclining Figure: Festival," sold for $35.1 million at Christie's London, leading a strong series of March 2026 auctions. The sale of the monumental 1951 work, which had been held in the same private collection for over four decades, set a new auction record for the British modernist sculptor, far exceeding its high estimate.

On Paranoid Time

Film Notes has published Qingyuan Deng's essay exploring the intersection of Lacan's concept of retroactive meaning and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's distinction between paranoid and reparative reading, as applied to recent artists' films and moving-image installations. The essay examines how works like Alison Nguyen's installation "Perforation, Ellipse" at New York's Storefront for Art and Architecture use cinematic techniques—such as perforations, splices, and missing scenes—to hold the temporal gap between an event and its belated political comprehension, focusing on the censorship of Vietnamese bolero songs after the American War.

London's Southbank Centre to receive £10m government funding boost

The UK government has announced a £10 million funding boost for London’s Southbank Centre as part of a broader £128 million investment package for 130 cultural venues nationwide. Administered by Arts Council England, the grant is earmarked for urgent infrastructure repairs, including fixing leaking roofs and modernizing rigging systems, coinciding with the center's 75th anniversary. Other major beneficiaries of the Creative Foundations Fund include the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and Firstsite gallery.

12 Art Books to Kick Off Summer

Hyperallergic's Lakshmi Rivera Amin presents a curated list of 12 art books for summer reading, including a novel lampooning the art world, Megan O'Grady's meditation on art and living, Kory Stamper's exploration of color lexicography, Nan Goldin's reissued photo essay, and Jennifer Higgie's prose poetry novel. The roundup also features Vincenzo Latronico's 'Perfection,' Nina Burleigh's satirical 'Turn Around, Don’t Drown,' and a graphic novel by Naoki Matayoshi and Shinsuke Yoshitake, among others.

10 Exhibitions to See in Chicago This Spring

A guide highlights ten notable art exhibitions opening in Chicago this spring, focusing on shows at smaller, community-focused, and artist-run spaces like Good Weather, Hyde Park Art Center, and the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art. Featured exhibitions include Hunter Foster's "Involition," which repurposes a Cold War siren to comment on infrastructure and threat, and Alison Ruttan's ceramic installation "The Paradox of Inaction," which visualizes climate disaster.

The Angel of History Is Stuck in Jerusalem

The Jewish Museum in New York's exhibition 'Paul Klee: Other Possible Worlds' is missing its central artwork, Paul Klee's 'Angelus Novus' (1920). The original, owned by Walter Benjamin and normally housed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, is absent due to "current conditions affecting international transport," a likely reference to the Israel-Hamas war. A reproduction stands in its place, alongside Benjamin's famous 'Angel of History' text, which interprets the angel as a figure witnessing the catastrophic pile-up of history.

Suspect Arrested for $240,000 Damage to Chihuly Glass Artworks

A man was arrested for allegedly breaking into the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibition in Seattle and destroying multiple glass sculptures, causing an estimated $240,000 in damage. The suspect, Alexander Taylor Weis, reportedly threw glass at security staff and attempted to stab a guard with a shard before being apprehended by police.

What Germany’s Art Market Reveals About the Limits of Localism

German art dealers are increasingly pivoting toward regional strategies as the national market faces a period of stagnation. While the broader European Union saw a modest rise in dealer sales, Germany’s market contracted by 4 percent between 2024 and 2025, hampered by high interest rates and a sluggish post-pandemic recovery. In response, major fairs like Art Cologne are launching satellite editions in locations like Mallorca to follow wealthy German collectors on vacation, while Art Düsseldorf prepares for a record-breaking edition despite the economic downturn.

chicago neighbors expo satellite fair

Collector Mirka Serrato and gallerist Jonny Tanna are launching Neighbors, a new satellite art fair debuting during Expo Chicago in April 2025. Located in a 1,200-square-foot neoclassical apartment in Chicago’s Gold Coast, the fair rejects traditional booth structures in favor of a domestic, intimate setting. The inaugural exhibitor list features a mix of local and international galleries, including London’s Gathering and Harlesden High Street, as well as spaces from New York and Dallas.

War in Middle East Art Trade

war in middle east art trade

The escalating conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran has cast a shadow over the Middle Eastern art market following missile strikes on key infrastructure in Dubai. With major events like the 20th anniversary of Art Dubai scheduled for mid-April, international galleries and collectors are expressing significant concern over safety and regional stability. Logistics firms like DHL have already warned of shipping delays and rising insurance costs due to restricted airspace and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

arsmonitor florin mitroi

Bucharest-based gallery Arsmonitor is presenting the second installment of a four-part curatorial program dedicated to Romanian artist Florin Mitroi (1938–2002). Titled "Florin Mitroi: Ch.II: Autumn," the exhibition is curated by Erwin Kessler and is anchored by the recent rediscovery of over 600 previously unseen works—files, notebooks, drawings, and pieces on wood and metal—that had been forgotten in storage for nearly two decades. The show frames these recovered materials as foundational, expanding the known oeuvre of an artist who exhibited only a small fraction of his production and later regretted even those works. The program, structured around the four seasons, includes chapters titled "Winter," "Autumn," "Summer" (planned for 2027), and "Spring," aligning with the season of Mitroi's death.

billionaire art collector ken griffin us eroding brand

Billionaire art collector and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin stated that the United States is “eroding” its brand due to economic policy changes during President Donald Trump’s first 100 days. Speaking at Semafor’s World Economy Summit on April 23, Griffin warned that the reputation and creditworthiness of US Treasuries are at risk, citing recent tariff-driven sell-offs of government bonds. He expressed concern about policy volatility undermining the goal of reshoring manufacturing and noted that investors using the euro as a reference have lost 20% of their value in four weeks. Griffin also voiced support for DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk, which has recommended cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities.

OSCAR MURILLO: PAINTING AS A WELL OF ACCUMULATION

ÓSCAR MURILLO: LA PINTURA COMO POZO DE ACUMULACIÓN

The article profiles Colombian-born artist Oscar Murillo and his expansive, socially-engaged practice. It details his rise to international prominence in the early 2010s with large-scale paintings that incorporate text, textiles, and studio detritus, and highlights his ongoing, collaborative project 'Frequencies,' which involves students from over thirty countries creating works on canvases attached to school desks. The piece also references his major solo exhibitions, including 'El pozo de agua' at kurimanzutto in Mexico City (2026), 'Masas' at WIELS in Brussels (2024), and 'The flooded garden' at Tate Modern (2024).

How Artist Iréne Norén Used Painting to Reclaim Her Relationship to Her Body

Artist Iréne Norén, who began painting just three years ago after a personal crisis, is now mounting her first solo gallery show in New York. Titled "Reliquary of the Body: Returning to Eden," the exhibition opens at Harper’s Chelsea and explores themes of shame, self-acceptance, and the female body, drawing on Catholic art historical imagery and Renaissance altarpiece structures. Norén started painting after an abortion while living in New York without a work visa, using art as a tool for emotional expression and confidence.

Fred Tomaselli Turns Newspaper Headlines Into Mulch at His New Show at James Cohan

Fred Tomaselli presents his new exhibition “Blooms Disrupted,” opening May 15 at James Cohan’s 48 Walker Street location in New York. The show features his signature densely layered resin paintings embedded with organic matter like leaves and pharmaceutical pills, alongside a new series of collages constructed from New York Times front pages. The anchor piece, *Month of August (evening)*, combines a geometric spiral of headlines with a photographic Mexican sunflower, while other works reference art-historical gardens such as Frederic Edwin Church’s estate. Tomaselli, a Brooklyn-based artist born in 1956, uses the garden as both subject and metaphor throughout the exhibition.

art wolfgang tillmans exhibition los angeles

Wolfgang Tillmans presents "Keep Movin'," an exhibition of new photographs, sculptures, and video works at Regen Projects in Los Angeles. The show, installed in January 2026, features large prints, unframed photocopier works, ready-made sculptures, and his ongoing "Truth Study Center" displays of ephemera. Tillmans explores themes of social and political cycles, image construction, and the ambiguity of beauty, using materials ranging from nautical ropes to close-ups of offal.

art bunker artspace queer exhibition

The Bunker Artspace in Palm Beach, Florida, has opened "Beyond the Rainbow," a major exhibition of LGBTQ+ art curated by Laura Dvorkin and Maynard Monrow, along with 19 other artists, curators, gallerists, architects, and writers. The show draws from the collection of patron Beth Rudin DeWoody and features works by Catherine Opie, Andy Warhol, Nicole Eisenman, Lyle Ashton Harris, and others, running from December 7 through May 1, 2026. The exhibition was inspired by a visit to the Centre Pompidou's "Over the Rainbow" show in Paris.

art ai digital guide brian droitcour

Brian Droitcour curates a guide to navigating the current media landscape through the work of tech-savvy artists and writers, focusing on exhibitions in Brooklyn and Queens. The guide highlights Porpentine's show "Xrafstar World" at Haul Gallery in Gowanus, which features poster-prints of drawings depicting characters from their stories and games, made with different digital brushes. Droitcour contrasts this DIY, performance-driven work with major institutions' engagement with AI, such as Sasha Stiles' "A Living Poem" at MoMA, which he criticizes for echoing technology's promises of polish rather than probing its complications.